Uber valued at about $51 billion after latest funding round

The WSJ reported that investors in this latest round include Microsoft and Indian media company Bennett, Coleman, and Company. Its entry into India has been anything but smooth, and the company has been at odds with authorities in New Delhi since an Uber driver there was accused of rape in December.

Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment. Uber is at the top of the pack of billion-dollar plus startups riding a wave of private venture funding. China’s Xiaomi, an electronics company and one of the world’s largest smartphone distributors, is valued at $46 billion.

If it seems like Uber is working on another new round of funding, that is because Uber is always working on another new round of funding. Times Internet, which runs investments and oversees websites for Bennett Coleman, contributed to the new investment round after taking a stake in Uber earlier this year as part of a marketing deal. The driver denies wrongdoing and is now on trial. When Heather questioned the company, she was told that the passenger app was actually showing a “screen saver” meant to indicate that there were Uber drivers on the road at the time. Uber has admitted to the practice, but says it is not intended to fool users.

Uber, which already has investors such as Google Inc and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, operates in 57 countries.

Uber said in an email that it filed documents in May describing its funding efforts. Uber has not revealed plans to go public, but the bump in its valuation is yet another indication that an IPO must be around the corner. That followed Uber’s $1.8 billion of financing in the fourth quarter last year, which was almost 28 percent of the total sum – $6.3 billion – invested in the valley during that period, and a $1.2 billion round in the summer of 2014.